Blue Savannah
by Saamon-sama
Summary: Obito thinks something strange, and finds himself experimenting with the limits of his eye. Kisame thus finds himself in quite the alternate universe from a much smaller perspective. Meanwhile, Hinata was certain catfish were not actually supposed to look like cats.
1. Mist on a Sunny Day

**Title** : BLUE SAVANNAH

 **Disclaimer** : I make promises I never keep. Anything you recognize is not mine.

 **Summary** : Sometime after the deaths of the infamous _Zombie Combo_ , Obito sort of has an epiphany and Kisame finds himself with a new lease on life- at a cost, of course.

 **Warning** : I dreamed the start of this all up after a couple days of sleep deprivation. I don't know where this is going, it just is. My apologies in advance if the writing style is mind boggling. Perspectives tend to... jump around. I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IN FOREVER.

Also, I recommend finding out all the intricate details of how everyone's favorite band of murderers died in canon before you read this, if you don't know already. It will all be so very confusing otherwise.

...

* * *

For the first time in a long time, Obito dreamed of a living, breathing Nohara Rin.

Rin, who looked just as young as when Kakashi had obliterated her heart. Rin, who knew how to smile and did not bleed until all he could see was her lack of life. Rin, who was walking right up to him, glowing like an angel and-

"OBITO, YOU IDIOT!" Jabbing him with all the might her lovely, radiant fingers could.

" _W-What?_ " He uselessly raised his hands to hover at her shoulders, too scared she'd become dead again if he touched her. She glared up at him with those olive eyes of hers. Obito, stupid fool that he was, thought she looked adorable.

" _Rin,_ " he breathed. At the sight of her, the heart that he thought was gone broke yet again.

"Obito," Rin said imploringly, "You need to stop this madness." Obito frowned.

" _Wha-_ "

"This Moon's Eye plan, Obito! Tsuki no mei. You need to STOP IT!" Obito's useless hands then gripped her shoulders. Towering over her, he attempted to intimidate the one girl he'd never wanted to intimidate when she was alive. But this was a dream Rin, surely. This was a Rin who should know what she was demanding of him.

 _"Don't you see, Rin? I can't! I can't and I won't! Not until I've brought peace to this world. Not until I have y-_ "

"I'M ALREADY DEAD, OBITO!" Her small hands fisted into his shirt as she screamed.

Obito felt his broken heart shatter to dust.

Rin started crying, and numbly he felt her embrace him. Her small stature meaning her head barely reached his chest. She began speaking to him again, voice muffled by the cloth of his shirt and the tears in her throat.

"I'm already dead. I have been for a long time now. You can't bring me back anymore, Obito." He vaguely felt her dig her skull into him. "You're hurting Kakashi-kun, and his students, and everyone else back home! ...And yourself."

" _..._ "

"Obito, look at me." Reluctantly, he met her eyes. This Rin still glowed, so different from the dead, lifeless Rin he'd grown used to seeing whenever he closed his eyes. This Rin's soft eyes with her tear-stained cheeks showed emotion he didn't think he'd ever see until he finally captured Minato-sensei's son.

" _Rin,_ " he breathed again. Her voice came out gently.

"Obito, you're hurting yourself the most. I can't fix you up anymore, and it hurts me so much to see you doing this to yourself!"

" _Ri-_ " She shook her head vigorously.

"I'M SERIOUS, OBITO! You have to stop this plan, before-"

" _Rin._ " Gently, Obito pushed himself out of her embrace. " _I can't stop now, Rin._ " Her beautiful eyes widened, and Obito wished he could stare into them forever.

"No! Obito, you're not liste-"

" _Once I complete Tsuki no Mei, no one will ever have to lose a loved one again._ " He began walking backwards, and grinned. " _I'll bring you back! And you and Kakashi-bastard can be together!_ "

"Obito!"

" _I'm sorry Rin,_ " he smiled. " _I'm going to wake up now._ "

Shock took over her delicate face and she began to run to him, but before she could reach him Obito pulled out a blade and stabbed his own hand.

* * *

Obito sat crouched beside the corpse. He mumbled to himself incomprehensibly as his hands flew through various combinations of seals, repeatedly tapping the dead man's forehead to no effect.

"Tobi. **What are you doing?** "

"Ah! ...Ah heheheheh!" He jumped back. Obito ruffled the back of his head, other hand waving nonsensically. "Nothing, Zetsu!"

"What are you trying to do to that body? **Don't play with my food, Tobi.** "

Quick as a blink, Obito scrambled up onto a boulder and whined. "Awww, you're no fun, Zetsu!"

"Is it safe to eat? **If this thing is poisoned-** "

"Don't worry, Zetsu! The worst that could possibly happen is that maybe you turn into a cat." Obito giggled.

"A... **cat**?"

"Yep!" Obito nodded, swaying his hands and arms pointlessly. "I had another dream about Rin-chan a few weeks ago. She told me to stop with our plan-"

" **What-** "

"BUT! But-but-but-but, I'm not going to listen to her! So instead I'm working on a kind of permanent cat transformation!"

"...That line of thinking makes no sense."

"Doesn't it?" Obito tilted his head, and didn't stop. With a shout, he fell headfirst into the stream below.

* * *

Nonchalantly, Obito skipped from branch to branch as he hummed a lullaby he vaguely recalled his grandmother once singing to him. Two shuriken shot toward him and he caught them almost absentmindedly once they passed through his jugular.

"Now now... Didn't your mama tell you it's dangerous to play with knives? But ya know, you have really good aim!"

"Wh-what... THE HELL ARE YOU?"

Pausing, Obito gave the question some serious thought. "Hrmmm..." Waving his arms, he squealed, "Tobi is a good boy!" then flopped backwards onto a toppled tree trunk. "So a human, I think?"

Suddenly the man stood beside him, summoning two giant axes from a scroll. "LIKE HELL YOU ARE!"

"Ohhhhh! Those are huge-" With a crash the two axes slammed into Obito's sternum, splintering the tree trunk below.

Panting, the kusagakure shinobi waited for the dust and debris to settle, certain he'd hit his mark. An explosion reverberated through the woods and the man turned panicked eyes to his left. "Sayuri!"

"Don't bother yourself. Senpai's already blown her up to bits!" The man turned back, eyes going impossibly wide. Before him stood the Akatsuki member in the orange mask, completely unharmed. Obito raised his hand, the two star blades from earlier in his grasp. "Hey Mister! Can I keep these? You take really good care of your weapons."

"...!"

Obito tilted his head, whining. "Is that a no?" With his other hand, Obito pointed at the giant axes still stuck in the dirt. "How about those? They look so cool-" Instantly the man vanished, gouges left behind in the ground where the axes once lay. "Eh? Where'd you go, mister?"

"Right behind you!" The giant blades slid into Obito from behind, intent on cutting him into three parts. Quickly he grasped the man's wrists once they'd fully passed through his torso, both blades now facing outward at his sides. Two loud _snaps_ and the axes fell to the ground with a thud as the man behind him screamed. Giggling, Obito looked over his shoulder.

"Thanks for telling me! I could have almost died!" Crossing the doomed man's arms over his head Obito pulled the shinobi up into the air and slammed him on his back, stunning the man and temporarily paralyzing him.

"You...you shou- should have died!" The man wheezed.

"Really?" Obito leaned over him, apologetically rubbing the back of his hair. "Sorry, but death sounds painful!" Crouching, Obito began a pattern of hand signs.

"Wha-what are you do-" With a tap to his head, the man disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

" _...Perfect_ ," he whispered.

"That's an ugly cat, yeah." Obito looked up.

"Senpai!"

Taking note of the signs of a scuffle, Deidara crouched down next to Obito, looking at the cat with interest. "So you turned him into a cat, yeah."

"Ehhhh! How did you know? Senpai you're so smart!" Hands to his cheeks, Obito gushed.

"Shut up, Tobi! It's obvious, yeah." Deidara lifted a mangled paw. "And you broke his wrists." He grinned wickedly. "I'm gonna blow it up, yeah!"

* * *

Raising his hand, Obito shielded his eyes as he stared at the bright ten kilometer light show that was his now deceased pyromania-cal partner.

"Whoooo, what a spectacle! Senpai sure knew how to go!"

The light faded, revealing the gaping chasm of desolate destruction courtesy of Deidara.

" _I wonder if Itachi's baby brother survived that._ "

With a whine, Obito thumped his head onto the tree beside him.

"I wanted to turn senpai into a cat! _Why'd the stupid kid have go and blow himself up like that?_ "

* * *

Bending down, Obito picked the fluffy corpse up by the scruff, lifting the animal's sightless brown (transplanted) eyes toward his own. Tiny specks of rust-colored sand steadily poured out of the small black creature's gaping maw. Resting his left hand to his waist, he sighed.

" _To think, that you were already rotting from the inside out._ "

Slowly, the animal's silky fur began turning brittle, before flaking off into dust.

" _You've truly amazed me, Itachi-chan._ "

Not even three hours later, the body had fully disintegrated, leaving behind nothing but dirt and dust.

* * *

Obito stared down at the emaciated body and its red head of hair.

" _Zetsu._ " The plant being shifted out of the ground beside him.

"Yes?" Without turning to look, Obito handed him a small cylindrical container.

" _Have these waiting in the lab for me._ "

"Ohhkay." With barely a sound, he retreated back into the earth.

Raising his now free hand to his chin, Obito pondered.

" _Now then..._ " Quickly his hands flew through an already familiar pattern. Keeping his left hand in _tiger_ position, Obito stretched his right toward the head of hair. He stopped, then sighed. _"This won't do, Nagato."_ His hands fell to his sides. _"You betrayed me."_

Turning on his heel, Obito walked, disappearing in a whirl.

* * *

Silently standing upon the branch, Obito leaned his foot against the trunk of the tree as he stared at the unassuming earth below.

"What are you going to do with him? **I can't believe you actually gathered all his parts.** "

Juggling the last limbs for a bit, (decapitated head and left foot,) Obito let the pieces thump into the sack beside him. From the trunk below, Zetsu frowned.

"Do you want his scythe? **I know where it is.** "

Twisting the bag, Obito threw it over his shoulder to carry.

" **Madara-** "

" _There's no need, Zetsu. His soul is gone, so he's useless to us now._ "

"...Then, **what are you going to do?** " Obito scratched the back of his head.

 _"Well, unlike Kakuzu's decayed corpse this one still seems to heal itself so... Call it morbid fascination._ " Obito wiggled his wrist, miming a puppet hand. _"_ I want to see what a zombie cat is like, hehehe!"

"..."

" _I'll be taking my leave now. Be a good boy, Zetsu._ "

With a whirl, Obito disappeared.

* * *

Soundlessly, Obito sat down, crossing his legs as he stared at the soggy, bleeding body before him.

" _Wake up, Kisame. It's just me."_

With a lurch, the blue figure lifted himself up on his arms, hacking out the blood that had been pooling in his mouth. Patiently, Obito waited for the man to right himself up. Kisame sat back, one arm resting on the cloth of a bent knee, and grimaced when he met his eyes.

" _Go ahead and bleed, Kisame. Wouldn't want you to choke on your own blood now, would we? Don't worry, this place is a dimension of my own making. Clean up is easy._ "

With a grin, Kisame parted his serrated teeth enough for the blood from his tongue to flow freely. For a beat, Obito stared at the morbid display before continuing what he knew was to be a one-sided conversation.

" _I was worried you'd actually bitten your own tongue off for a moment there, but it's still barely hanging in there, isn't it? A shame you lost Samehada to the hachibi... Sorry I can't heal it for you. I truly have no talent in any healing techniques. Well anyway, you caused me quite a bit of grief back there with that stunt you pulled! I'm quite proud of myself, you know. I had to switch you out with white Zetsu at just the right moment so no one would notice anything was off._ "

Kisame's gruesome grin widened. Obito nodded.

" _And yes, thank you for that. You truly are the most loyal shinobi I've ever met, that's why you've always been my favorite. As a final parting gift, I'll tell you what I'm about to do with you, and even show you how._ "

Kisame's brows lowered, confusion evident in his grisly frown.

" _That's right. You will not see nor hear from me again after this. My apologies, but I do not plan for you to be here to see my plans for this world come to fruition. You asked for a world of honesty, but I cannot give you that. I seek peace through false means."_ Obito raised his hand, palm faced toward himself as he grasped air. _"To be honest, I had originally planned to do what I will do to you to everyone in our organization. But as it turns out, my technique only works on fresh tissue. And incidentally, whatever body I work with must be the true, unaltered human form the being was born with. And within our gloomy organization, such requirements are excruciatingly hard to meet._ " Obito paused, tilting his head. " _Forgive me, Kisame. But I can't say I've ever had the privilege to meet another Hoshigaki aside from you. Is that body your original?_ "

Ruefully, the bleeding man grinned again, tilting his head and flicking a hand as if to swat a fly.

" _Then that's good. My technique will still work._ " Leaning his chin on a fist, Obito continued. " _I'm going to physically remove you from this universe, and place you in another. Though to be honest with you, I don't know if you'll actually wind up in another reality, or simply die without a trace."_ He shrugged. _"Though I'm sure that doesn't bother you. You were already willing to die anyway. To do this,_ _I'm going to manipulate your body into a...smaller form. That way it'll be much easier on my abilities to transport you to wherever I end up transporting you, as I am incapable of moving large bodies within this particular technique. Also, because this particular form humors me... call it Uchiha bias._ "

Instantly, Kisame's features took up a look of annoyance. Obito grinned behind his mask.

" _That's right... Itachi-kun was rather particular toward ravens, wasn't he? Worry not, he was the only Uchiha that was._ " Deciding he was tired of sitting, Obito stood up. " _I really do appreciate how keen you are, Kisame. It makes explaining things go by very smoothly. So no, I'm not going to turn you into a bird. I'm going to turn you into a cat instead. However, this technique is of my own devising, so don't mistake it for a simple transformation trick._ " He raised an index finger. "Think of it like a nin-neko curse!"

Kisame scoffed, an eyebrow raised in either bemusement or curiosity. Perhaps both.

" _You will be the only being in all of this world that will not be controlled by my Infinite Tsukuyomi! But this will come at the cost of being a cat until the end of your days... That is, until you discover purpose. Until you discover a true purpose for yourself, Kisame, you will live a lie as a cat. This curse... is my gift to you for being the truest shinobi I have ever met. You can say that I even think of you as a friend._ _Now watch closely Kisame. Who knows, you might find this knowledge useful._ "

Clearly sensing the end to his extended reality, Kisame's brows knit in uncertainty even as he grinned viciously. Slowly, Obito performed familiar hand signs as he stepped closer to the beastly man's seated position. Ending with _tiger_ and stretching his right hand down toward Kisame's head, he paused one last time.

" _Once, I was called Uchiha Obito. And if only so that I have not done this all for naught, I sincerely hope that you do not die after I send you where even my own Kamui cannot follow. This transformation will knock you out, so... Farewell, Hoshigaki Kisame._ " With that said, Obito tapped his palm to the man's forehead and the Poseidon of Kirigakure disappeared in a cloud of mist.

As the fog dissipated Obito found himself staring at the sheer size of the cat, its wet fur the dark shade that was Kisame's hair.

" _...My my. You're by far the most exotic one. This really shouldn't surprise me._ " Noticing the blood leaking from the animal's mouth, Obito knelt and pried open the cat's jaws. " _I lied about not knowing basic healing techniques_." Carefully he placed a gloved finger to the tiny muscle, green glow lighting up the small cavern. " _But it's much easier to do this when you're out cold and drastically less menacing... There, done._ "

After placing the smaller, unconscious figure away from the blood soaked area, Obito stepped back. Then, he took a deep breath.

" _Mukou Kamui._ "

* * *

The day had started out bright and warm, not a cloud in the sky. It had continued in this pattern within the hours as classes continued and passed with time. Truly, a typical, beautiful spring day. With how stable the weather had been the past few weeks, it should come as no surprise that Hyūga Neji found the sudden onslaught of heavy fog that had descended into the forest surrounding their home during their walk back to be mildly disconcerting. So heavy was the chilly vapor that condensation gathered on the biotic life within the forest, precipitating from the leaves.

It was practically sprinkling.

The bridge leading to the family estate was nearly obscured thanks to the dense clouds. And the flow of the Kiyoi river below could be heard, but not seen. Neji chuckled, directing his voice to the young woman walking beside him.

"The usually tranquil bridge looks rather spooky like this. Don't you agree, Hinata-sama?" At her lack of response, he turned.

His gentle cousin has paused a few paces back. Her narrowed eyes were focused at a point high up beyond the wooden railing of the bridge, above the river.

"Hinata-sama?" Following her gaze, Neji gazed out into the thick expanse of whiteness.

When he noticed it, time seemed to slow to a crawl. Meters away, something... was falling. It's shape was blurred and gray through the fog, but it seemed to be an animal of some sort. The sound of Hinata's book bag hitting the ground was the catalyst to setting the flow of time back into order, and before he could blink, she had run and launched herself off the railing. Impossibly, her outstretched arms managed to catch whatever creature it was before her indigo hair disappeared into the clouds. Shortly after, great splash cleaved the air and Neji ran to the railing, white knuckles grasping solid wood as he tried to spy his cousin.

"HINATA-SAMA!"

Seconds passed before he cursed, tossing his shoulder bag to the floor. With a splash, Neji followed after her into the Kiyoi river.

* * *

...

Monologues are so tiresome to write. I really didn't enjoy all those italics. But how else does one show the transition from one voice change to another, especially when voice change is such a dynamic feature in the original characters?

No. Don't even think of looking up a map of Japan. I can't be bothered to actually reference actual reality. So from here on out, everything is written from a whim of fancy. Though, I do reference _Nihongodict_ , a dotcom site in case you are curious.

 _ **Review** any questions or comments!_

Love,

Saamon-sama

(formerly Lostpuppy-EYES -who apologizes sincerely to all her followers for not writing what she initially promised to write, _ever.)_


	2. Kisame the Catfish

**Title:** BLUE SAVANNAH

 **Disclaimer:** Kisame is actually dead. It's horrible. Nomyeyesaresweatingwhatareyoutalkingabout.

 **Summary:** In which Hinata protects a secret.

 **Note:** Prussian blue is the name of Kisame's hair color. Hinata's is indigo.

...

* * *

 _I wanted to go there, too..._

"My apologies... but I cannot give you that."

* * *

Hinata didn't know what type of animal it was.

All she knew was that she had to catch it before it hit the surface.

Cold water latched onto her as she sank, seeping into her clothes and invading her shoes. She barely noticed. Unconsciously, her motor functions had halted when she caught sight of a strange phenomenon. Dark blue fur continued a steady, undisturbed pattern of rise and fall even as it swayed to the will of the river's current. With every second of air she missed, she spied the internal workings of red and pink muscles.

She stared, and stared, and stared some more. She shouldn't, after all it was her lungs that were screaming for oxygen. But Hinata found herself in a slight state of shock.

She'd saved a cat, and found it could breathe underwater.

 _Gills?_

Suddenly an arm wound around her waist, and both she and cat were pulled up to break the surface.

"Hinata!" Panic colored the voice at her ear.

She gasped and coughed.

With that response, Neji surmised his cousin alive and safe. Locating the river shoreline, he swam and waded up the bank. Gently, he placed his precious cargo up against the head of the bridge.

"Sit here for a moment, Hinata-sama." Straightening, he grimaced at the wet thing in her arms, then at their wet uniforms, before jogging across the bridge to collect their tossed schoolbags.

Surreptitiously, Hinata brushed down the fur sticking up at the animal's shoulders.

Adjusting her backpack strap so that he could tuck it over his head to rest alongside his own shoulder bag, Neji paused as he noticed the surrounding environment. Once again, the sky was clear, blue, and _visible._

 _What in the world?_

If not for the residual signs of moisture sprinkled upon the already drying earth and greenery, he would've questioned if the mist had been a figment of his imagination. Hurriedly, he returned to his resting cousin and ignored her squeak as he picked her (and cat) up bridal style. Her cold bangs tickled his chin.

"Ne-Neji-niisan!"

Beginning the steady trek toward home, he ignored the discomfort of his socks sloshing in his shoes with every step.

"It was your idea to jump off the bridge and play hero."

"But I can walk just fine!"

"Hinata-sama, stay still," he said, though the statement was unnecessary. Hinata knew well enough not to flounder. "It's bad enough that I let you enact a watery suicide. It'll be my head if Ko or your father see you come home muddy and tired on top of that."

"Muddy?"

"You might trip."

"I would not."

"..."

With the softest sigh, Hinata resigned herself to Neji's overprotective tendencies. Resting her head on his shoulder, she looked down to the large feline cradled in her arms. The gills were closed now as it breathed through its dark little nose.

She was quite certain catfish were not meant to actually look like cats.

* * *

Passing the comb through her sister's gleaming hair one last time, she determined her job complete. Of course, Hinata still needed to change out of her wet school uniform, but she'd stubbornly refused in lieu of gently toweling down the sopping animal resting on her lap. So Hanabi had settled with laying a robe over her sister's shoulders before combing out her hair.

Setting the comb aside, she moved to sit in front of her sister.

"Nee-sama, are you sure you're not cold?"

Hinata smiled. "I'm not, Hanabi-chan. I'm very warm, thank you."

"If you say so..." She looked down at the feline, whose rather large ears Hinata was now gently rubbing.

Compared to the strays that on occasion passed through their traditional estate, this was the largest domestic cat Hanabi had ever lain eyes on. Was it even a domestic breed? She wasn't an expert on cats to be certain, but...

"It's a weird color for a cat, Nee-sama."

"You think so?"

"It's _blue."_

Hinata giggled. "My hair is blue too, just like mother's."

"But it's an even _darker_ blue, on a cat!" She hovered her hand over the animal's forehead, before thinking better of it. What if it woke up and bit her? "And only on the top!" She pointed to the light grey-blue colored fur on its underside. "It has _countershading._ Like a _shark._ Not to mention those stripes on its face and shoulders totally look like gills."

At her mentioning, Hinata folded the towel over to work with its dry side, softly continuing her self-appointed task.

"Sharks aren't the only marine animals with countershading."

"It's the stripes, Nee-sama."

"But does he actually look like a shark?"

"Eh?... No, not really."

"And why is that, Hanabi-chan?"

"He... It's a cat."

"Exactly. Many animals have patterns which resemble others. So there's no need to be scared to pet him, Hanabi-chan. He's sleeping very deeply."

Hanabi blanched, then pouted. Leave it to her gentle elder sister to read her like a book.

Hinata smiled. "He's a very handsome cat, isn't he?"

"Yeah... Why are you so sure it's male, Onee-sama?"

"Hmm. Well, you could call it a hunch."

Okay. She could live with that. Her sister was very rarely ever wrong when it came to her intuition. In fact, Hanabi would bet money her sister was never wrong when it came to matters of the sixth sense.

"Of course, I can have Kiba-kun check. Just to be certain."

Hanabi hummed, hesitantly using two fingers to pet along the cat's spine. _Soft!_ Then she grinned. "Are you gonna keep him?" Her sister paused, towel resting on the cat's tail.

"...He might belong to someone..."

Hanabi scoffed. "Oh please, Nee-sama. You and Neji-nii found him _falling_ over the Kiyoi river. Which might I remind you is _our_ family's property. We're surrounded in an entire forest of isolation!"

"Actually, Hanabi-sama, the guilt for finding that cat rests entirely on your sister's shoulders." Neji stepped into the bedroom, sliding the already open shoji doors just a tad more. Having opted for a cleanse after arriving home, he now stood clothed in a freshly steamed yukata. Disapprovingly, he frowned at Hinata's still-wet uniform. "I would have never noticed it if not for Hinata-sama's presence and actions."

"Surely you would have heard the splash?" Hinata implored.

Neji shook his head. "You didn't notice it, because that strange mist dissipated immediately after I pulled you out of the water. But the fog had been so thick I would have brushed the sound off as unimportant. I think it was fate that this animal fell where you, of all people, would see it." He looked away from the animal and met her eyes. "Or perhaps, Hinata-sama, your existence defied this cat's fate."

Hinata blinked, then peered back at the creature in her lap. Judging the animal finally dry enough, she folded and set the towel aside.

"Neji-nii, are you saying those weird clouds from earlier were hiding the cat?"

"I...had thought of it, Hanabi-sama."

Hanabi gasped, then jumped to her knees. Excitement lit her eyes. "That's so cool! Nee-sama, you saved an alien!" She dropped to her hands, intently staring at the oblivious animal. "Can I name it? Please?"

Hinata chuckled, "You already have a name in mind, don't you?"

"Yeah!"

"And what is it?"

Hanabi grinned.

"Kisame!"

* * *

For what seemed an eternity, he smelled nothing and heard nothing. All he felt was wind. He couldn't even taste the blood of his tongue.

 _Have I finally died? No.._.

He was falling. Fruitlessly, Kisame tried to open his eyes, surround himself in chakra, twist his body, anything. But nothing he attempted worked.

And he kept falling.

 _To think, I am saved from my own suicide just so I can die from a fall. That damn Mada- no, Uchiha Obito._

What irritated Kisame the most wasn't that his own control of his demise was taken away from him, it wasn't that he'd been reduced to the pathetic form of a feline, it wasn't even that the man he had devoted his loyalty to had once again admitted to lying to him. He was irritated at the fact that he wasn't angry at all.

 _I'm really quite the saint, aren't I?_

Suddenly the air he breathed became humid and moist, and Kisame realized he was passing through fog. Fog signified he was nearing ground level.

 _This is it,_ he thought. _I'm going to die from impact. If I'm lucky, I'm above an ocean. But the surface tension of water is going to feel just the_ _same as any ground at the rate I've been falling._

Then, the wind stopped, and he found himself cradled for a split second in warmth before the familiar cool feeling of being submerged enveloped him. Automatically his lungs ceased functioning as his gills took over.

 _How... I'm alive?_

Now, he was sinking.

 _My body won't obey me... I'm going to die the slow painful death of starvation, or be eaten by another animal._

He was more partial to death by impact than starvation. And he'd much prefer to get eaten by a shark, (for the poetic purposes of his own humor,) but sharks did not naturally eat prey as small as cats. So long as he had no control, he wouldn't be able to make any eat him either. How long would he drift? Would he reach shore? The water current felt odd, as it felt as if it wasn't completely surrounding him...

 _The warmth is still here,_ he realized.

Whatever it was, something or someone, had saved him. Seconds upon seconds passed, and Kisame wondered if whatever had caught him had died in the process. Perhaps they had fallen into a trench and the person (He now knew, as he felt the unmistakable arms and fingers attached,) was struggling to swim back to the surface? Where was he? Was it even the ocean? Oceans swayed. The current, or what he could feel of it, moved swiftly in a single direction.

 _This is a river._

He himself was fine. He had gills. He could breathe. Unless he'd been rescued by a fabled river-dwelling mermaid or nymph in this new world Obito threw him in, he doubted the person holding him was doing just as well. Abruptly, his gills faltered (as they were wont to do whenever he was forced out of his element without warning) before his respiratory system offset itself back to his lungs.

A while later, he felt the fur covering his gills smoothed down.

So they had noticed that aspect of his. And yet, the person still carried him.

Kisame couldn't remember if he'd ever been held before. Perhaps once, when he'd been born. Otherwise, he had been an orphan before he could remember and as such had no memories of any familial displays of affection. But then again, such was the tale for most who grew up in the village of Bloody Mist.

For a long while, all he felt was the continuous warmth. A hand stroked down the length of his spine once in a while. He let himself indulge in it.

 _This...is nice,_ he noted.

Of course, it wasn't really like he had any other choice. Slowly but surely he felt his other senses returning to him, (The taste of iron was gone, and he presumed Obito had healed his tongue.) but he still couldn't move his body or summon his chakra. By the time the person had begun drying him with a towel, ( _an odd sensation, for sure,_ ) he was able to pick up enough sound to conclude that he'd been rescued by a woman.

The high tones of a child rang particularly close in his ears as well.

 _Will I understand the language spoken here?_

"Kisame!"

Silently, without lifting his head, Kisame's ears shot to attention as his eyes snapped open to the sound of his name.

It felt oddly natural, having movable ears atop his head. Like a switch, he belatedly realized he'd gained back full functioning of his body.

Dressed in a stylish summer yukata, a young girl knelt before him. Her mouth was open partially, betraying the minute intake of breath his attention had garnered. With her long brown hair and eyes like lavender milk, Kisame recalled a memory of a young women he had slain, who had offered him friendship once upon a time. Mentally, he chuckled.

 _Is this my penance? For your slaughter, I now have to deal with a blind child-version of you, Miru?_

Said child spoke again. "He's awake!"

Oh, so the child wasn't blind. What eerie eyes to possess, for they were distinctly lacking in pupils. Miru had had dark eyes, from what he recalled. _How do you know of my name, little not-Miru?_

"Don't startle him, Hanabi-chan. I imagine he must be very confused right now."

 _So your name is Fireworks._

Keeping his gaze locked with the child, his ears swiveled back to the second voice. It came from the warmth he still found himself laying upon, and matched the mellow tones he'd been hearing earlier.

 _You have a very nice voice, miss rescuer,_ he thought.

"Are you having a staring contest with it, Hanabi-sama?" A decidedly male speaker. He'd heard this one before, in fact. The familiarity of this third voice had him raking his memories for a face and name.

Little not-Miru answered, "He has such cool eyes!"

Kisame blinked. _You have my thanks, shrimp. I appreciate that much more than being called cute._

"Is that so?" The voice stepped closer.

Breaking eye-contact with the child, he finally lifted his head to set a face to the voice he couldn't seem to pinpoint in his mind. Wearing a basic tan yukata with a black obi, a young man with long hair the same brown hue as Hanabi's knelt into a seiza position to get a closer look at him. Clearly he was related to the little shrimp. This person's pupil-less eyes however, were the palest blue. Kisame stared.

 _I've met you before, kid._

The boy before him blew out a breath. "They're quite golden, but I've never seen such...disconcerting eyes on a cat before."

 _You sure are one to speak, kid. A family genetically lacking in pupils isn't exactly normal eith-_

Obnoxious green jumpsuits, hideous bowl haircuts, a mousy female, and veined white eyes flashed through his mind.

 _"Neji! Tenten! LEE!"_ Might Guy had called them.

 _Neji... Hyūga Neji. You're that intelligent boy who saved yourself and your teammates from drowning in my water prisons!_

Finally exposing his teeth, Kisame felt himself grin widely at his epiphany.

 _That explains the eyes. To think I'd wind up in the prestigious Hyūga household, of all places! Are you a shinobi family in this world as well? ... Is your idiot sensei also here?!_

At the thought of Konohagakure's self-proclaimed beautiful green beast, hostile excitement had the fur along the transformed man's body begin to rise in aggression.

 _I want to find him. I want to find him and rip his limbs off_!

"Wh-what's wrong with this cat?" Neji asked. He rose to one knee, ready to bolt if the blue creature attacked, but unwilling to actually move away in case it posed a danger to his younger cousins. The thing was still cradled in Hinata's lap, for goodness sake!

And Hinata, with her hovering hands and worried expression, looked very uncertain about what to do in the situation. While Hanabi had the good sense to back away, she was also busy staring in awe at the animal's revealed chompers.

"Hey Neji-nii... Maybe Kisame didn't like what you said about his eyes."

"Forget his eyes Hanabi-sama, I'm more worried about his bite right now."

Relishing in his ability to still incite fear even as a cat, Kisame began to rise from his savior's warm lap. Neji felt the small hairs on the back of his neck mimic the movement.

"They look like they could bite through bone..." Hanabi whispered.

"Your observation is...really not helping the situation."

Noticing her cousin was slowly beginning to pivot to the open hallway, Hinata glanced back to the furred animal now half-crouched in her lap. Despite Neji and Hanabi's wary reactions, she didn't actually sense any malevolence aimed toward her cousin. The feline had yet to even unsheathe his claws (Which she was quite thankful for, she didn't want to test if a lap towel and her skirt were enough protection).

Rather than standing straight up, Kisame's fur curled upward and together, forming the beginnings of what looked like a lengthened dorsal fin stretching from his skull to mid-back. His tail was still casually curled up within her lap though. But as the fur along his forelegs began to rise, so too did his gills.

Slightly panicked and without thinking, Hinata pressed her hands to his shoulders. This action effectively covered up any evidence of the visible muscles beneath, and shocked her sister and cousin into comically widening their eyes. If Neji's hair weren't so long, she would not have been surprised to see it rise as well.

Curiously, Hinata's actions were not met with any form of sharp, painful retaliation. If anything at all, her touch instantly settled the creature she rescued.

Kisame froze, registering the fact that again, his gills were being smoothed down.

 _She's protecting my...oddity, from discovery,_ he realized.

All thoughts of gory mayhem flew from his mind as Kisame turned to finally get a look at the person who had prevented his second glance at death.

* * *

...

 **Hello!**

I know Kisame's actual gills aren't noticeably marked like his facial (Birthmarks? Tattoos?) scars are, but for this fic I'm having the fur covering them look like the ones on his cheeks. I drew a thing to show what I imagine him to look like as a cat. He's modeled after the Savannah breed. _Search #_ ** _kaijin_** _#_ ** _fanfic_** _# **Kisame** # **cat** on **tumblr**_ to see the sketch.

Neji's white-blue eyes are explained in the headcannon I posted in the first chapter of my other fic, Kaijin.

 **Please Review!**


	3. Tempura Ebi

**Title:** BLUE SAVANNAH

 **Disclaimer:** Boruto exists.

 **Summary:** in which eye contact is finally made

* * *

"Am I friend, or am I foe?"

* * *

She was young with a slender neckline, cupid lips, and skin paler even than the little street rat Zabuza had picked up all those years ago. Her hair was at a hue just a few shades off from his own locks, with such a shine that it seemed to hold a perpetual halo effect. And though more noticeably pigmented, her large doe eyes shared the same color as little not-Miru. The strange blue and white civilian uniform she wore was unfamiliar, but the yukata resting upon her shoulders was identical to what the boy wore.

Her beauty was both ethereal and plain.

A very nice face to match a very nice voice.

 _Now_ , he wondered, _who might you be, my accidental angel?_

Kisame didn't know much about the Hyūga family, but he did know the little basics about how they had a branch house and a main house, and that the head of the family had two daughters to compete for leadership. The information had come up automatically back when he'd been researching about Madara, Itachi, and the Uchiha family in general.

As connected families, a person could not dig up one without finding information on the other.

Their eyes, the byakugan, was also just as coveted as the sharingan, but fell below the radar of interest thanks to the curse seal the family had devised. He suspected Ao had somehow gained possession of one though. Kisame had seen the veins.

Seeing as Hyūga Neji existed here, Kisame could only conclude that he'd wound up in an alternate reality. Assuming such, (and remembering how the boy had addressed the younger of the girls,) he ventured to guess that the young woman before him was the heiress to the family, elder sister to the little princess behind him.

 _Your name...had something to do with the sun,_ he thought. _Your father is Hiashi if I recall correctly, so you must be.. Hima, no.. Hi..nata._ Kisame blinked. Yes, Hyūga Hinata. A sunny place. That was it.

How ironic, to be named for the sun when she looked like a daughter born from the moon.

Even more ironic, was how he'd lost the company of one heir of a clan of eyes to wind up in the lap of another.

 _Itachi-san, I wonder what you would think of this situation I've found myself in._

Hinata felt an involuntary shiver zing up her spine at the sight of those gold-dusted yellow irises. He had a stare that made her feel as if she were prey and he, predator. It was like a rabbit cornered by a lion, and just thinking of that analogy made Hinata want to smack herself, seeing as the cat (while quite large) was still a cat, and therefore smaller than her, and he was sitting on her lap (But sitting up made him eye-level with her own eyes, he really was very big) and so really she was just being silly...

But Neji wasn't kidding when he said such eyes were disconcerting on a cat. They certainly didn't seem to dilate from slits like feline eyes, (or even shark eyes, if she were to follow Hanabi's thought process). Really, Kiba had more feline-like eyes than this cat.

Breathing out, Hinata slid her hands off furry blue shoulders and retrieved the small towel she'd placed aside earlier. She was being extra careful not to bring attention to Neji. Her dear cousin was still frozen in his position between halfway kneeling and halfway pivoting toward the open hallway.

He was always humorously dramatic at the oddest times.

Meanwhile, Hanabi was silently inching her way back closer.

With a glance to her little sister and a gentle smile, Hinata carefully brought a corner of the towel to the cat's face. "Kisame-kun, was it?"

His ears twitched in response, and Hinata was certain Hanabi couldn't look any more pleased.

In what she hoped was a soothing manner, she pet the small tufts that stubbornly stuck up from the top of his head with two fingers as she began to softly dab the cloth to his muzzle.

"I forgot to dry your face, forgive me."

Kisame stared at her hand as the cloth rubbed at his muzzle, uncertain on how he should be reacting to the onslaught of physical touch. With a glance back to her eyes, he found himself wondering what the real circumstances would have been had he met her before, met the konoha shinobi version. Did the other Hyūga Hinata hold onto this innocence he saw currently? How strong was she?

If they had ever met, he would have tried to kill her, most certainly.

Would it have been exciting? He would never find out now.

Closing his eyes and coming to a decision, Kisame pressed further into the hand rubbing his scalp. _A life for a life. I'll stick around for a while princess, until I find a reason for landing in this strange world of yours._

Unbeknownst to him, Neji had gone pale, and seemed to be having a conniption, while Hanabi was torn between staring at her sister in awe, and silently laughing at her cousin.

* * *

Neji couldn't help it. But he found it quite a bit uncanny how the cat responded so instantly to its new name. One would think Kisame had already been its name with how used to it it seemed to be. Though he, Neji, in his petty dislike refused to call it anything other than "cat." Or "it."

The cat hadn't shown any signs of aggression since their initial "meeting," and had in fact not shown any signs of interest in him since then. It acknowledged Ko more in fact, ever since its discovery upon the fact that Hinata packed tempura ebi in the older male's bentos.

Obviously, Hyūga Neji still had a problem with holding grudges. But that was a tale for another time. Long story short, things happened, Hinata's father, his father, Hinata herself, Neji getting his rear handed back to him thanks to that idiotic red-head from Hinata's year...and yeah.

Unsurprisingly, the cat had become attached to his gentle cousin (though his mind still boggled over how she hadn't been harmed, touching the animal so suddenly like that). But it was an odd sort of attachment. The blue creature never openly sought her out for affection, but still it followed her, like a dog that lacked blind adoration, or was simply averse to touch. Though that wouldn't explain why Hanabi and Hinata were able to pet and coddle it.

A week after Neji had fished her out of the river, Kisame the cat had developed a routine.

On school days, according to Hinata, the dog-sized feline would be up and about before any other member of the household, (missing and doing who-knows-what while the cousins got ready for classes). He'd later be found lounging beside his uncle's seat (that instant friendship had been a shocker, they'd just stared at eachother and that was that,) at the head of the breakfast table. Then he would follow Hinata (specifically his cousin, Neji suspected he himself could do backflips while singing the nation's anthem and the cat would acknowledge him with nothing more than the flick of an ear,) from the moment she got up to set her dishes into the sink, to the moment she stepped foot past the school gates. From that point, it was anyone's guess what the blue animal did, but it would consistently be found waiting just beyond the gates once the final bell rang to follow Hinata back home.

Upon returning home, (after Hinata's customary glomp from Hanabi,) the creature would then engage his younger cousin in what seemed to be a game of hide and seek tag, before retiring to Hinata's desk as she completed her homework. Curiously, despite his obvious favoring of Hinata, the cat refused to engage in play with anyone other than Hanabi. If it didn't make him sound crazy, Neji would lean to say that the cat humored her because of her young age.

Around dinner time, usually before, the cat would then reappear near the main house kitchen (The estate boasted four separate kitchens, the main house one actually being the oldest and smallest and only called such because it was located where the current head of the family decided to reside). Hanabi said it had grown a habit of idly watching Hinata prepare dinner.

Luckily for the creature, the Hyūga household fed strays with nekomeshi made from the kitchens' leftovers. Hinata mentioned that it seemed to get moody if seafood wasn't part of any of the meals though. So she'd begun a habit of putting a slice of naruto (the food product, not the obnoxious Namikaze from school, not that Neji would mind if it was the latter) into its dish for those days.

It was irritating.

Just a couple days and the cat was already beginning to act entitled. Neji's thoughts were subtly (Actually, everyone knew but Neji didn't have to know that. The family all found his discomfiture entertaining.) kept hidden though. The rest of the family had accepted the blue thing quite easily upon the realization that it seemed to belong to Hinata, and it wouldn't do for him to get called out for being jealous of a cat.

Not that he was jealous. Neji was just peeved that despite being the prodigy of the family, and getting along quite well with all the stray cats over the years, more so than even Hinata was with the feline animals, this one cat dared to threaten him, then ignore him! It didn't deserve Hinata-sama's pampering!

Yes, he could admit he still had a problem with holding grudges.

He didn't really understand his own ire entirely, to be honest. Despite its size, color, and certain menacing features, it was still a cat. Just an animal. However every time Neji looked upon it, a chill would go down his spine and he'd automatically get the urge to whisk both his younger cousins away from it, as if it posed a danger.

It didn't help that he was the only one to seem to feel this way.

"For such a fearsome looking animal, it's quite docile," He'd overheard a distant aunt say.

"He's really intelligent," her son, Neji's cousin Tokuma, had replied. "I believe the cat understands spoken tongue. I overheard Hinata-sama ask him to retrieve something from the koi garden, and the next thing I heard the cat had jumped straight into the pond!"

"My my, it already obeys young Hinata-sama's commands?"

"So it would seem."

It obeyed Hinata, yes. It even obeyed Hanabi, sometimes. And his uncle seemed to get along with the cat as well. It was almost hilariously terrifying how the cat had conveniently picked the three members of the family guaranteed to ensure the rest of the family did not question its prolonged presence and access to the interior of the homes (granted, Hinata _was_ the one to rescue it). And it even got along with Ko, because of tempura ebi, who was the only other member of the family to have a persona similar to Hinata's.

And Neji would sometimes wonder if Ko was the reason his cousin had turned out so gentle and patient, with him being her guardian before Neji was old enough (mature enough and taken down a few pegs, actually) to steal the role, or if memories of her late mother were entirely to blame. But then he would remember that Ko was actually her late mother's first-removed baby cousin and therefore closely related so it didn't matter as it was clearly a recessive trait thing regardless. Obviously recessive, seeing as the rest of the family (including himself) were quite sadistic in their natures.

So the cat was automatically granted pardon, seeing as it was friends with both the male and female sweethearts of the family.

Such connections really worked in its favor, especially since the cat deemed Hinata's room its personal sleeping quarters. Stray cats were one thing, but pets were actually forbidden in the family, a rule Neji's grandfather, the prior head (now retired with a tendency to go on tea-tasting journeys) had placed due to an incident from when Neji and Hinata's fathers were still infant boys. Doves and songbirds used to be the common pet for many in the family, along with the occasional dog, (usually gifted from an Inuzuka in a gesture of gratitude for whatever friendship was forged or deed was done) until the day one of Neji's aunts had taken in one of the stray cats. A bloodbath was to be discovered the next day after what supposedly sounded like a war between hell-risen beasts.

Tokuma's father had described it as a massacre. According to him, out of twenty-eight birds, all but three and a half had been reduced to bone and feathers, the cat had lost its tail and broken one leg thanks to the protective dogs, and the dogs had destroyed approximately three hundred thousand yen worth of family heirlooms.

Neji found it hard to believe, but if that's truly what had happened, he couldn't fault his grandfather for banning pets altogether.

When Neji had questioned his uncle why Hinata was allowed to keep the cat, his uncle had replied, "Kisame obeys her commands, and we do not keep birds anymore to have to worry of such things."

"But, what would Ojii-sama think of this?"

"Your grandfather is away on another of his tea excursions. What he does not know of immediately will not hurt him. ...if you are so worried Neji, you may speak of the matter directly with my daughters."

Well, there went that.

His uncle knew very well how weak Neji was to Hinata's wishes. It takes one to know one, after all.

And so, Kisame the cat was there to stay for the indefinite future.

Or until his grandfather returned home.

* * *

 **...**

 **Tell me what you think!  
**


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